Re:Zero - Jobless Reincarnation: Succubus Sword God? I don't recognize it!

Chapter 581 Unexpected Changes in the Capital: The Visitors Are Not Friendly

"I think Miss Aisha shouldn't be a housekeeper."

After she finished speaking, Aisha's bedroom fell silent.

The misty vapor dampened Aisha's face, and the moisture accumulated, turning into water droplets.

With a soft thud, it fell from her chin into the bathtub.

She narrowed her eyes and stared intently at Melna.

—Perhaps because they often look at Allen's face, they subconsciously imitate his micro-expressions. The girls around Allen always imitate his mannerisms without realizing it.

"Do you know what you're saying? The person who understands me best in the Boreas Manor should be you, Melna. Rudy said so, Allen said so too, and now you're the one lecturing me?"

With a splash, Aisha stood up from the bathtub, holding onto the wooden edge of the tub with both hands, and leaned down to face Melna.

Very close.

Melna's face tensed upon seeing Aisha's action, but she paused for a moment upon hearing Aisha's words, then her expression brightened with surprise, and she quickly asked in response:
"Did Mr. Allen notice? Did he try to persuade you? When and where? What was your response?"

Aisha paused, then sat back down in the bathtub with a splash, no longer looking at her or responding.

Melna, seemingly oblivious to Aisha's expression, moved and circled halfway around the bathtub before returning to Aisha's side.
"Master, how did Miss Aisha respond to Mr. Allen?"

Aisha glanced at her, rested her chin on her hand, and looked out the window, but instead of answering her question, she asked in return:

"What do you want to say?"

"I believe that Miss Aisha already possesses such renown and a prestigious position in the future. The Cardinal Archbishop of the Holy Empire of Milis has repeatedly invited you to serve as High Priest, and Princess Ariel of the Kingdom of Asra has never stopped sending you letters."
Now, however, he's merely a butler at the Boreas mansion, and even then, he's subject to gossip and criticism from the maids.

Aisha interrupted her:

"Are you feeling that I'm not good enough for you?"

"."

"Or perhaps you think your brother doesn't deserve it?"

Melna paused, then lowered her eyes and said:
"Before the time magic, I also thought Mr. Allen was not worth it."

Aisha raised an eyebrow, and then Melna said:

"But after meeting him, I realized that Mr. Allen was worth it."

Some people are shallow; some are boring; some are absurd; some are stupid; and some are all show and no substance.

He was unlike anyone I had ever met. Just as Miss Aisha said when she sent me here using time magic, he was someone who shone like the sun, without needing to be identified.

He was so dazzling that it was impossible to look directly at him.

But deliberately looking down because it's too bright is even more torturous.

"enough."

"If you muster the courage to look a few more times, you'll clearly feel that although the sun is dazzling, it's not unattainable. It's right there; just look up, just look a few more times, and you can't help but be captivated."

"enough!"

Melna didn't stop, becoming more and more excited as she spoke, and even grabbed Aisha's shoulders:

“He deserves it! Mr. Allen deserves it! But doesn’t the master deserve it? Precisely because of this, precisely because of this, he can’t just be a butler! I clearly know what the master expects.”

Aisha suddenly reached out and pressed her hand against Melna's chest.

That's the 'heart,' the location of the Automaton's magical crystal.

Melna froze, staring at Aisha's face in disbelief.

Aisha stared at her with a tense face, her eyes obscured by the white mist, making them difficult to see clearly.

A moment later, he suddenly smiled.

Even if you can't see her eyes clearly, her expression and smile are so beautiful and radiant that they make you dizzy.

She gently pushed Melna away from her:

"I understand what you're trying to say, but what makes you think this isn't the life I want?"

Melna stared at Aisha's smiling face, speechless with astonishment.

She opened and closed her lips several times, but ultimately couldn't utter a word.

pat, pat.

Silence fell, broken only by the sound of water droplets clinging to Aisha's hair falling into the bathtub. After a moment, Melna could no longer bear the unbearable stillness and bowed her head to take her leave.

Click, the door closed.

Aisha watched Melna's departing figure, her smile slowly fading from her face. She sighed silently and got out of the bathtub.

The scorching hands and the blowing magic were performed together, and the wet hair and body were quickly evaporated.

"Was I a bit too harsh? Melna's gone, and I still have to clean up this mess myself. That damned Alstead, he doesn't do much important work, but he's always busy with trivial matters. Protecting him from curses takes up most of my magic. I'm exhausted."
Honestly, I'm going to tell all about this when my brother gets back.

Aisha glanced at the basin, feeling her magic power depleted and her limbs sore. She decided to deal with the bathwater tomorrow. She then opened the window, used her air magic to dry the room, and then threw herself onto the bed.

The bed was very soft and filled with the feathers of some kind of white raven monster, not the kind of treatment a butler/maid should receive.

It was Hilfi who specifically instructed Lil to change the clothes for Aisha. Apart from that, the bronze mirror in the room, the new blanket for winter, the bathtub made of sandalwood that is very famous in the capital, and even the wardrobe and quill pen were all of the highest standard of treatment in the Boreas family, no different from what Lokishi and Hilfi used.

Oh, by the way, unlike the other two girls, Isorti, as a renowned noblewoman in the capital, still has a curfew at night.

Aisha fell asleep quickly, and in her hazy state, she heard pattering footsteps right in front of her bed.

The vigilance she had developed in the conflict zone hadn't faded yet when she suddenly opened her eyes and sat up.

But then she saw Izuru, shrouded in cunning moonlight, standing right beside her bed in an exquisite knight's armor. The armor shimmered with a cool light, like the ripples on the surface of a cold river at night.

She stared straight at him, her eyes colder than the moonlight.

Aisha was startled:
"Sister Izuru, what... what brings you here?"

Izuru remained expressionless and cut to the chase: "So you want to marry your senior brother?"

Aisha, without even bothering to put on her clothes, jumped out of bed and said angrily:

"Who told Izzo? Melna? Why can't she keep her mouth shut?"

The voice suddenly stopped at this point.

Aisha stared blankly at Izoruti, who returned her gaze with indifferent eyes.

"No, I mean, that's not what I meant. It's just Melna's own assumption."

With a sickening hiss, the blade scraped against its sheath. Izuru drew her sword from her waist and spoke in a very solemn noble tone:
“Very good. It’s no surprise that your senior brother is popular. If you want to marry him, you should listen to his opinion.”

But for me, it was still a knot in my heart. Although Miss Loki and Miss Hilfi appeared in my senior brother's sight after me, he fell in love with them before I did. If I wanted to marry my senior brother, I had to accept them, so I gave up my identity as a follower of Milis and gave up my faith.

You were clearly right after me, yet you won his favor so easily. I can't get past my own conscience.

But I am able to stand here because Sylphie has been helping me all along, so I have no right to blame you.

Do you want to stay in the Boreas family?
Yes, I grew up in the main dojo of the Suijin-ryu school. I progressed through the main dojo, the smaller dojo, and the face-to-face dojo. Survival of the fittest is a 'rule' etched into the heart of the Suijin-ryu swordsmen.

"Aisha, come on, defeat me, and then kill me, and you can take my place."

Aisha stared at Izuru in astonishment: "W-wh-wh."

As she spoke, Isorti had already placed the blade against Aisha's neck:
"Otherwise, abandon him and leave Boreas."

Aisha suddenly opened her eyes and sat up in bed!

She turned her head sharply to look at the bedside on her right. The morning light was faint, and the orange-red sunrise shone through the window, rolling on the folds of the sheets and splashing onto the empty floor.

Its daybreak.

“Miss Aisha, you’re awake. You were sleeping soundly yesterday. I dragged the bathtub out without you even noticing. It seems that maintaining the light and shadow magic that blocks Alster is quite mentally taxing. If I could learn it, I could help you out. Unfortunately, I’m not good enough.”

Aisha turned to look at the other side of the bed. Melna had a doting smile on her face, all the gloom from yesterday gone. It seemed she had been standing by the bed watching her for quite a while.

After she finished speaking, she dragged over the roller clothes rack next to her.

There were seven or eight maid outfits hanging above that looked the same at first glance, but upon closer inspection, some had a tight-fitting design on the front that accentuated the figure; others had ruffles on the sides of the skirt that made them look more playful; and still others had a flowing black belt at the waist and a pretty bow tied at the top of the skirt.

Each one is different from ordinary maid outfits, each with its own unique design.

It wasn't like this yesterday; it looks like Melna did this last night.

Aisha was stunned for a moment before realizing where the feeling of being spied on came from. It was just that her subconscious had superimposed the dream, distorting this sense of crisis into an absurd dream.

Why did you design these maid outfits like this?

Melna feigned ignorance, saying, "Design? It was like this when we bought it."

"Don't act stupid."

"Don't you think Mr. Allen would like these designs?"

Aisha wanted to refute instinctively, but reason and experience told her that if someone with Ellen's excellent aesthetic sense saw the details of the water god's flow, she would not only not blame her, but would also seize upon these changes to praise her.

She was silent for a moment, then reached out and pointed to the maid outfit with a black bow at the back:

"Let's wear this today; the alterations look more natural."

Melna smiled and said, "Okay."

Aisha got out of bed, letting Melna dress her. She glanced at Melna's smug expression a few times, then suddenly asked:

Have you said what you said last night to anyone else?

Melna frowned slightly: "It's impossible to say."

"Ah."

Suddenly, a commotion arose outside the window.

Aisha slapped Melna's hand away, tied the bow on her waist with her own hand, and walked a few steps to the window.

In the distance, a large crowd had gathered in front of the gates of the Boreas mansion early in the morning.

Aisha frowned: "Another nobleman trying to arrange a marriage alliance?"

Melna walked to her side and looked over as well, and asked in surprise, "But... there are no women. Those nobles clearly treat their women like jewels on a counter, carefully dressing them up so that they can be sent over to the young master for his opinion."

"wrong."

Aisha went to the window and carefully looked at the leader who was surrounded by a group of men in the center of the door.

He had long, neatly combed brown hair, the same color as Paul's, with a few strands of gray hair. He had a curved beard, a serious face, and a slender but upright figure. He wore a monocle and held a jewel-encrusted scepter.

竟是
Vans Notos Greirat.

Aisha murmured in surprise, "Uncle?"

"Uncle??"

"The head of the Milpotts family, who is now the actual person in charge of the family who opposes Father, is Father's uncle. He was the one who advocated severing ties with his family after Father left home."

Aisha explained, turning to walk towards the door: "This visitor doesn't seem friendly. Has Father woken up?"

"No, I was up very late last night."

"Wake him up."

"what"

"Never mind, I'll go myself."

-

Boreas, study, seven in the morning.

It was only half an hour before the guests who had traveled from afar stood at the gate of the Bereas mansion.

Philip was already dressed neatly and playing chess with Vans Notos Greirat.

“It’s been a long time, Philip. The last time I saw you, you were just a child. Now you’ve grown up so much. It’s quite a sight. To be honest, back then I was more optimistic about James.”

"It's been a long time, Uncle Fan Si. You're still as blunt as ever."

Fan Sisheng was refined, but his chess moves were bold and unrestrained; he raised his hand and exchanged pieces with Philip.

Philip played cautiously, thinking ten steps ahead for every move he made. He let Philip exchange pieces, silently setting traps for him.

"I'm just stating a fact. Of course, it's my fault if I misjudged. I admit that there are always some juniors in the clan who can surprise us, aren't there?"

Fan Si's words carried a sarcastic undertone of "a father's status depends on his son," but Philip simply smiled and remained silent.

If you're so capable, then why don't you be a brave warrior in your next life who wakes up with the wisdom of your past life? If not, what are you being so sour about?

That is indeed the case.

Fan Si still wants to exchange pieces.

"Ha, Boreas is good. I, Notos, am far inferior to the younger generation. Pelemon is naive and guileless, and Paul is even worse."

As he said this, his eyes became distant.

“Pylemon’s sons are even worse than him. They’ve learned nothing in all these years living in the capital; they’ve only spent their time indulging in pleasure. Paul’s sons are even more inexplicable. Last night, when I returned to Notos’s residence, I found him making love with two noble ladies.”
One of them, I heard, was a young widow who had lost her husband—what kind of behavior was that?
Our family doesn't approve of them being so engrossed in this matter at this critical juncture.

Philip smirked.

You, Fan Si, had quite a few romantic affairs when you were young, with a particular fondness for middle-aged women. Now that you're old, you seem to have forgotten where you came from.

"Last night I invited them to my residence for a chat and offered them some wine. My uncle didn't even inform me beforehand. This sudden visit always catches people off guard."

"Oh, it's a checkmate."

Fan Si lost, but instead of looking at the chessboard, he stared straight at the door of the study.

Hurried footsteps could be heard outside the door.

The door opened with a click, and Paul stumbled in, looking bewildered and hungover at Fan Si: "Uncle, what brings you here?"

His clothes were disheveled, and the buttons were all fastened in the wrong place.

Lilia tried to straighten his clothes from behind, but couldn't catch up with him, so she had to stop outside the door.

Fan Si looked at Paul and snorted coldly:
"If the son is no good, the father won't be much better."

(End of this chapter)